


Ki of Tranquility

by merry_amelie



Series: Academic Arcadia [10]
Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Alternate Reality, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-15
Updated: 2004-01-15
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:23:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1752731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merry_amelie/pseuds/merry_amelie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quinn and Ian become one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ki of Tranquility

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback: Is treasured at merryamelie@aol.com (or leave a comment).
> 
> Disclaimer: Mr. Lucas owns everything Star Wars. I'm not making any money.
> 
> For Alex, my friend and beta.

Quinn and Ian knelt quietly until their Sensei had left the mat, then bowed to each other and rose to leave. Quinn had been studying the art of aikido for years, beginning as a child. It had been his favorite after-school activity.

He had recently started bringing Ian along on his weekly visits to the dojo. Ian, the college scholarship gymnast, was a quick study, and had already progressed from being partnered with a fellow neophyte to practicing with Quinn.

Master Yodama watched them go with a smile in his eyes. The diminutive Sensei had known Quinn for years; to Yodama, Quinn's isolation had been wrenching, all the more so with a prospective companion hovering just out of range in Quinn's possible future. Now that presence had eased into Quinn's orbit, giving off the light and heat of a binary star, as if he'd always been there, but only recently been discovered.

Quinn himself was different in Ian's gravitational pull. Familial and social expectations had always weighed heavily upon him, the size of them near to crushing even such a hale young man. The brilliant light beside him had eased Quinn's way, sharing the load with effortless grace and unflagging humor.

The men were discreet, but Yodama noted changes in his friend's routine since Ian had joined him. After a workout, Quinn used to shower in the men's changing room; since Ian had taken up aikido, they washed and dressed at home. Yodama watched as the two enveloped their cream uniforms in brown cloaks they'd brought for the purpose, honoring the tradition of covering the gi outside the dojo. They donned their Williamsburg boots, and exited the building. 

There were gardens out back, which members used for quiet contemplation, but were almost always empty after dark. Quinn and Ian took advantage of this, and no session was complete without a cleansing meditation.

Ian had suggested an indoor hideaway when winter had come, but Quinn countered that their cloaks were warm, and they were young and hardy. Quinn could hear Ian thinking 'foolhardy', but the latter bowed to his wishes.

So there the two knelt, peaceful under the January sky. They did not talk much after their katas; the sense of connection that was ever-present between them seemed to expand to infinity after the joint exertion. 

Eyes closed and hand in hand, Quinn and Ian looked inward, analyzing the worries of a new semester: acclimation for Ian, adaptation for Quinn. The men sorted through their difficulties in adjusting to scrutiny by Ian's family, and flying beneath the radar of Quinn's. 

Sometimes Quinn set the topic of meditation, but often, as on this night, it was free-form, selected seemingly at random by a wide-ranging set of preoccupations. Completing the katas first put them in an ideal state of mind, releasing their pent-up frustrations in an orchestrated flurry of movements. 

Feeling lighter by virtue of both physical and emotional exertions, Ian and Quinn opened their eyes to the winter garden and tranquility. As they gazed at each other, heat began to suffuse their senses. 

One of the unexpected benefits of their immersion in aikido was the desire for closeness afterwards. As soon as they got home, clothes came off, blazing a trail to the bedroom. Quinn and Ian moved against each other as they had in practice, this time free to express the deeper connection always pulsing between them. 

The lines of their body tautened and arched in this most intimate of katas, as they became one in flesh, one in spirit. Fire, earthquake, flood: the torrent carried them away, first to quiescence, then sleep.

Their workouts were different at home, uninhibited and playful. They went through the forms daily, in the morning before breakfast and just prior to bedtime. Bowing and kneeling were saved for the rarefied confines of the dojo. Their private exercises were more likely to start and finish with kisses. They did wear their gi, however, deeming them the perfect garments for performing katas. And if they were exceptionally easy to unwind, revealing the treasures beneath, all the better.

Their new home provided a lovely environment for aikido: the apartments had terraces surrounded by reflective glass for privacy. The men would gravitate to the sun as they began their warmups. One of the first gifts Quinn had given Ian was a Japanese tatami, twin to his own, which felt like a cloud cushion under his knees.

Ian was learning the meaning of serenity, taught by a loving master. He had basked in Quinn's serene light from their first meeting, the sense that here was a man at peace with himself and his surroundings. Ian craved that still center in his lover; he tended towards the energetic and headstrong, and could see the appeal of Quinn's complementary way. 

Since he had begun practicing katas with Quinn, Ian had found a new calm and perspective. Before he'd met Quinn, Ian had been totally focused on his career. Keenly aware of the vulnerability of an assistant professor, he'd produced reams of published papers and signed up for many a soporific committee. 

Now for the first time, Ian's private life was vital and intense, thus harder to integrate with the demands of academia. Ian's workload was both more and less than Quinn's: more, because of his extra course; less, because he did not chair a committee or mentor doctoral candidates.

Quinn taught Ian balance by example. He was able to shrug off the travails of the day as soon as he locked the office door behind him. Just as Ian's love had strengthened Quinn, Ian could feel the weight shift off of himself, lightening his spirit, giving him much-needed carefree time with his lover. 

Quinn and Ian had started the spring semester in a state of satisfaction -- emotional symbiosis, intellectual stimulation, sensual repletion -- a shared wellspring streaming into a sea of tranquility.


End file.
